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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23255980">Lies</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/JillyWinchester/pseuds/JillyWinchester'>JillyWinchester</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>DCU, DCU (Comics), Young Justice - All Media Types</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Angst and Feels, Angst and Romance, Gen, Light Angst, observation</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-03-22</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-03-22</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-01 05:40:40</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>837</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23255980</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/JillyWinchester/pseuds/JillyWinchester</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Jaime and Khaji Da observe Bart's mental state, and hypothesize on how to help</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Bart Allen/Jaime Reyes, Kinda - Relationship, can be read as platonic - Relationship</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>53</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Lies</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>(To deal with this verse, I played with the timeline a bit.  Jaime has already met the Reach and thinks they have left Earth.  That's how he knows Khaji Da's name, and how Khaji is more human than robot. This also makes the whole 'Blue Beetle betrays humanity and takes over the world' thing have a bit more kick)</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <b>(Jaime Reyes, the Bart Allen lies)</b>
  <span> Khaji Da cut into Jaime's silent mind. If what Khaji Da was saying was true, Bart hid it pretty well, but Khaji Da was never wrong.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"What makes you say that?" Jaime whispered.  The bioship was filled with conversation, and no one would notice him talking to himself.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>(The Bart Allen is vague about his future experiences, claims to be worried about 'spoilers' when his story is questioned, and when speaking about the future, heart rate, perspiration, and blood pressure increases)</b>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jaime glanced over at Bart, who was arguing with Gar about 'scavenger rights.'  "What do you think the truth is?"</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>(Unknown.  Hypothesis: While increased heart rate, perspiration, and blood pressure indicate lying, they also indicate severe anxiety.  Perhaps the Bart Allen fears the future?)</b>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jaime glanced back at Bart and Garfield, who were still fighting. Suddenly, Gar raised his hands, exasperated, and walked away.  But he hadn't caught that Bart had flinched, expecting one of his best friends and teammates to hit him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>(None of your other teammates react negatively to each other as the Bart Allen just did, Jaime Reyes.  Perhaps past abuse in the future is what is causing Bart Allen to lie)</b>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>That- would make sense.  When Bart came to the past, he was, strange.  Which Jaime would have expected, but some things were just a bit too much.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>For one thing, Bart seemed to be confused by the sun.  He wore sunglasses on cloudy days and seemed to think sunny ones were some sort of supernatural anomaly to be treasured.  The first sunny day Jaime had spent with Bart was one of the strangest.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He'd left the zeta tube raised his arms, looking to the sky with his eyes closed, "The past is so sunny!" But when Jaime asked about it, Bart just shut down and made a joke about future pollution.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Bart also ate a lot.  LIke, more than any ordinary speedster.  He'd asked Nightwing about it, and he'd said that it was just Bart's metabolism, but Jaime knew that wasn't true. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Don't ask how, Jaime didn't even know, but somehow Khaji Da had scanned the contents of Bart's stomach.  Whenever anyone offered Bart any food, he ate it. No matter what, even if, according to Khaji Da, he was 'at capacity.'  Jaime's pretty sure Bart never </span>
  <em>
    <span>asks</span>
  </em>
  <span> for food, either.  Like he doesn't expect people to feed him.  Once, while playing video games in Bart's room at Mt. Justice, Jaime found his stache.  A bunch of old energy bars and protein drinks, collecting dust in a drawer. He'd found them accidentally, looking for more batteries for his controller while Bart was in the bathroom. Khaji Da had said it was probably because he wasn't used to having food available all the time.  Jaime didn't believe him at first.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>According to Khaji Da, Bart was also in a sort of arrested development due to lack of nutrients and should have been at least 7 inches taller.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Bart also didn't seem to grasp mental health very well.  After particularly bad missions, Black Canary all took them in for a session to make sure they were okay, but Bart, Bart found this troubling at best.  He hadn't even </span>
  <em>
    <span>heard </span>
  </em>
  <span>of PTSD, but when Jaime began explaining some of the symptoms, ( flashbacks, severe anxiety, mistrust, guilt, loneliness, insomnia, nightmares), Bart had been horrified, staring into the distance.  Later, he had asked if anyone on the team had PTSD.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jaime had carefully explained to him that every member of the Team had at the very least a mild form of PTSD, that that was why Black Canary insisted on regular therapy sessions, and extra ones after hard missions. "No one will kill themselves though, right?"  </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jaime was paralyzed and had no idea how to answer, so he just ruffled his hair said "No, hermano, not unless they're really suffering, but even then we'll be there for them.  Anyway, Canary's been looking for you,"</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It was all making sense now.  Something in the future was bad.  Really bad. Bart hadn't been allowed outside, hadn't been fed, and had seen someone he knew kill themselves.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jaime had to get to the bottom of this.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>-----</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Several weeks later, Jaime had gotten to the bottom of it.  Bart was from an apocalyptic future, one where he and Khaji Da had betrayed humanity and joined the Reach, helping them take over the world.  But that didn't explain why Bart still flinched every time someone made a sudden move. Jaime had assumed Bart had grown up with some sort of rebellion, that that was how he had gotten to the past.  </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maybe whoever he grew up with were abusive assholes?  Lack of food, seeing people die, and never being able to go outside because it's a Reach-infested wasteland was enough, but maybe the people Bart had been hiding out with all his life had hurt him?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jaime didn’t know.  But he vowed to find out, and make sure Bart felt safe in his new reality. </span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Thanks so much for reading this! Please leave a comment and some kudos!</p></blockquote></div></div>
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